The Couple

I was driving down an empty road, following a GPS that been frozen for about thirty minutes. I was warned constantly by my parents that I should brought a fucking map, but I refused. Even though this GPS is old, it never failed me once on any of my trips…until right now.

I had no idea where the hell I was, and I couldn’t exactly ask anyone. And there was no signal on my phone either, so I was pretty much fucked out here. While I was cursing myself for the 1000th time for not listening to my parents, I spotted a car broken down on the road.

A man and a woman in a red dress were checking out the engine, and I could tell from the posture of the couple that they were pissed off. I did not like to be a good Samaritan in a time like this, but this was the middle of nowhere, and I would feel like shit if I left them out here like this.

I stopped the car, pulling over next to the couple. I pulled down the window.

“Hey. Is everything alright?”

The woman had her hands on her hips, looking down at the engine as her boyfriend addressed me.

“Something is up with the engine. This car is pretty old, and my girl told me that I should have gotten the engine checked, but I didn’t listen. I can be a bit stupid sometimes.”

The woman slapped her hand on his arm, but I could see the little smile on her lips. That interaction reminded me so much of my parents, and I suddenly felt homesick. They could be a bit much, but I know they were looking out for me.

“Do you want me to check out the engine for you? I have a lot of experience with cars.”

The girl clapped. “Please please please do! We would really appreciate it!”

She wrapped her hands around her boyfriend’s arm, jumping up and down in excitement. The guy rolled his eyes, a big grin on his face.

These two were hopelessly in love.

I left my vehicle, turning off the car. I placed the keys into my pocket, and walked up toward the car. The couple stepped out of the way, and I began to look over the engine. Something poked me in the back. I knew without looking that it was a gun.

“Put your hands up,” the woman hissed.

I put my fucking hands up without question, hoping that these assholes weren’t going to rob me and leave me out here to die. The woman kept the gun on me, as her boyfriend opened my car door, going through my shit. I cringed when he found my wallet, pulling out the cash.

He left behind my credit cards, leaving me with some relief. The guy counted my bills.

“Shit. Where were you headed with this much on you, man?,” he asked.

“A trip.”

The woman giggled.

“Are your parents rich or something? Are you a mommy’s boy?”

I didn’t say anything after that. That insult stung, but I made sure not to let these assholes know that. The guy went through the rest of my car, and I flinched when he reached the trunk.

“Is there anything in here, man?”

“No,” I replied too quickly. That was a mistake, because the woman cocked back the gun. I handed over my keys, and she tossed them over to her boyfriend.

“Open the trunk, hon,” she said in a sing song voice.

He opened the trunk, and then he let out a scream. The woman turned back, and that was the moment to act. I punched her in the stomach, and snatched the gun from her. The woman was doubled over, holding her stomach as she collapsed onto her knees.

The man looked back at me, his eyes wide with horror as he went back and forth to the trunk and me with the gun. I pulled the trigger, shooting him in the head. He fell back, blood spraying from his head. The woman screamed, and without hesitation, I shot her too.

I put the gun in the back of my pants, and I went over to my car. My dead wife was inside. I had strangled her to death when I caught her trying to rob my parents. I did not hesitate as I killed her, no one messes with the people that raised me.

I slammed the trunk shut, retrieved my stolen money from those assholes, and I took the gun with me. Before I got inside of my car, I decided to check something. I opened the glove compartment of the couple’s car, and I found a map. I took that with me too. I would need it where I was going.

Burying a dead body requires a lot of travel and work.

My parents were right.

I should have brought a fucking map.

Thank you for reading!

Emy Quinn